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Bear Flag Rising traces the history of California from the Indians who inhabited the land before the first Europeans saw it through the warfare that would finally leave the province in North American hands.

The beautiful Brentwood area of Contra Costa County is the oldest continuously populated community in California inland from the great coastal centers. Californios eschewed this challenging portion of the Central Valley, so pioneering physician John Marsh established a permanent settlement here in 1837 at his Rancho Los Meganos. Soon, the burgeoning viniculture, wheat, orchard, and cattle operations attracted many Gold Rush miners back to their original agricultural callings, now in the California Delta.

Examining California’s formative years, this innovative study seeks to discover the origins of the California dream and the social, psychological, and symbolic impact it has had not only on Californians but also on the rest of the country.

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Our Mission:

“To preserve American and California history, culture and natural resources, and to provide access, educational programming and recreational opportunities in the Marsh Creek State Historic Park.”